92
votes
Accepted
Did the Allies reverse the threads on secret microfilm-hiding buttons to thwart the Germans?
This claim appears to have been distorted from an original about hidden compasses, not microfilm. The compass version has been confirmed by the British Military intelligence officer responsible, ...
- 105k
64
votes
Accepted
Did the FBI plant an informant in the Trump campaign during the Obama administration?
tl;dr: The claim is based on a misrepresentation or misinterpretation of testimony by a co-founder of Fusion GPS. There is no evidence that there ever was an embedded FBI informant in the Trump ...
tim♦
- 51.9k
28
votes
Did the Allies reverse the threads on secret microfilm-hiding buttons to thwart the Germans?
I also read almost exactly this as a child, circa 50 years ago, in Of Spies and Stratagems (1963) by Stanley P Lovell, who was the head of the US's Office of Strategic Services R&D division:
...
- 380
25
votes
Accepted
Is Kaspersky Lab a military unit?
While there's no proof, this seems like an incorrect assertion.
Based on the wording, this most likely seems like either a typo (or simply a rather grammatically-challenged typist); or simply two ...
- 31.2k
24
votes
Did the FBI plant an informant in the Trump campaign during the Obama administration?
Update: The New York Times published an article on this so detailed that it seems to supplant all previous information about this informant, at least pending further information: F.B.I. Used Informant ...
- 1,118
13
votes
Is Huawei the front for a Chinese espionage attempt?
It's hard to prove a negative, but in 2012 Reuters reported that a US classified investigation was leaked, and it said no evidence was found:
The classified inquiry was a thorough review of how ...
- 59.6k
8
votes
Accepted
Did the CIA feed false information to McCarthy to discredit his true claims that they were infiltrated by Soviet agents?
That appears to be true.
Per historian Mark Stout, who served in the Directorate of Intelligence in CIA, and hosted on cia.gov:
Grombach knew his situation was untenable, and he did not enjoy working ...
- 44k
8
votes
Accepted
Was the "Chinese spy balloon" a project of the University of Fairbanks to study the weather above the North Pole?
The balloon shot down over South Carolina, the only one the government has stated to be a likely spy balloon, has no ties to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. The Fairbanks link he mentions ...
- 6,568
7
votes
Was a server owned by Donald Trump configured to selectively communicate with a Russian bank?
Snopes said no:
But the Slate article (presented as a question in its title) simply strung together circumstantial details to suggest Trump had a server connection to Russia. A concurrent and a ...
- 10.2k
4
votes
Accepted
Does the Chinese government officially have access to IT equipment sold abroad?
They are presumably referring to the National Intelligence Law of 2017 that China passed. That law requires companies to assist the Chinese security services with surveillance and espionage. It's ...
- 3,131
3
votes
Accepted
Did CIA interrogator Charlie Wise die?
There is a grave for Charles Dean Wise (1950-2003) in Fairfax Memorial Park which marks the deceased as a veteran of Afghanistan, 2001-2. The link includes the content of an obituary submitted to the ...
- 44.9k
2
votes
Accepted
Are these reports alleging the existence of blackmail material by the Russian intelligence on Donald Trump a hoax perpetuated by 4chan?
It is now known that a former British intelligence officer going by the name of Christopher Steele was responsible for this report.
Christopher Steele, Ex-British Intelligence Officer, Said to Have ...
- 160
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible